Originally Posted by
csb001
Brings back great memories from my stay at the Hermitage in August.
The restaurant then had a special 4 course set menu for independence dat which bles us away and set the standaard for the rest of the trip.
rooftop pool and bar are great to relax from the Hustle and Butsle of jakarta.
Happy we arrived naar midnight though, as it only took us around 20 minutes from the airport to the hotel
Oh that sounds like a much better drive there! I also had the misfortune that my taxi driver somehow couldn't find the hotel and kept driving circles less than 500 metres away from it (had a fixed rate so he clearly was clueless and not trying to cheat the meter for more money). Also on the way back to the airport I had bad traffic in the city..
But I agree about the hotel. I wasn't a fan of Jakarta at all - but the hotel is absolutely fabulous. Wouldn't mind doing a mileage run to Jakarta again in the future if it means staying a night there again.
Originally Posted by
mad_atta
Interesting to see Saudia's product. I'm impressed that they have 54" pitch in business class on their A320s. But, like you, very surprised and disappointed by their lacklustre beverage service - you'd think they would take a leaf out of the book of other Middle Eastern carriers and make their selection of non-alcoholic drinks a real point of difference.
I noticed the OmanAir jet in your shot of CGK. I flew them in J for the first time recently and was seriously impressed (and they have *excellent* booze too!). They have had some amazing business class fares to/from Asia lately, so I'd recommend giving them a try should you have the opportunity.
The Hermitage looks absolutely lovely. A comfortable and well-run hotel with heritage character really is a joy. And in a hole like Jakarta, it makes a difference to have somewhere nice to come home to!
Indeed! I expected Jakarta to be grubby and not instantly likable based on what I've read and heard, but decided to give it a chance anyway as often I have a weird soft spot for not-so-obvious tourist destinations. But it was indeed quite a hole - happy to had this hotel to relax and enjoy while in Jakarta!
And yes, I was tempted to try Oman Air as well... just one week after booking my return (I opted for Y on China Airlines) there was that WY ex-CGK sale advertised on the premium fares board on Flyertalk. Ouch, would have loved that as indeed I only heard great stories about Oman Air (and the new airport at Muscat is apparently lovely too). The only thing holding me back with such airlines is that basically the miles are kinda wasted - unless a return in J class is good enough for a decent award at Oman Air's own programme or the sole other I think it credits to (Etihad). I need to check it out a bit more as I saw that the fare ex-CGK recently returned.
Originally Posted by
zboub345
Great report as usual;thanks for sharing.
Welcome, and thanks for reading along! More to follow soon (having again a quite bad week at work with little time for FlyerTalk).